Miami comeback stuns Jackets, overwhelms James

September 22, 2012|By Michael Casagrande, Sun Sentinel

ATLANTA — Surrounded by mayhem, Mike James needed a minute.

He took a knee and prayed. The moment was that big — the victory that fulfilling.

Maybe 45 seconds earlier, he crossed the goal line in overtime to spark the pandemonium. James' 25-yard overtime sprint capped a wild 42-36 upset of Georgia Tech. And after a few emotional moments, he joined the chaos in the Miami corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium.

James' three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes completed the improbable comeback from down 17 in the third quarter. His 10-yard reception from Stephen Morris with 27 seconds left forced the overtime in front of a frantic crowd of 50,390.

They saw a historic afternoon. Miami (3-1, 2-0 ACC) out-gained the dangerous Tech offense 609-419 as the Hurricanes broke the 600-yard barrier for the first time since beating McNeese Statein 2000.

The conclusion was emotional for everyone in orange and green.

"We were on the wrong side of that too many times last year," said a soaked Al Golden still dripping from the ice-water bath. "Anybody at the game could have said 'Oh, man, it's Kansas State again.' And the kids refused for it to be that. The kids learned something in Manhattan, Kansas."

For a while, it looked like the 52-13 beating was being replayed after a hot start. Miami's 19-0 first-quarter lead quickly disappeared behind 36 unanswered Yellow Jackets points. Allowing touchdowns on five of six possessions in the middle quarters had the Hurricanes on the brink.

"Keep the blinders on," Golden said he told the team.

A Jake Wieclaw field goal trimmed the deficit to 36-22 entering the final quarter. James erased it from there.

Possibly bigger than the late touchdowns was the play of Miami's embattled defense. The unit held Georgia Tech's third-ranked rushing offense below its average while coming up with the stop of the game. Needing just inches for the first down near the goal line in overtime, the Hurricanes stuffed quarterback Tevin Washington's rush.

Golden said he asked defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio whether he wanted a timeout before setting the alignment. No thanks, was the answer.

"We knew exactly what they were going to do," defensive end Anthony Chickillo said. "They ran a QB sneak to the B-gap and, man, it was just awesome."

The big moments, eight combined tackles in the backfield and two fourth-down stops was a statement for the embattled Hurricane defense.

"Absolutely, we get ridiculed a lot, and Coach D takes a lot of heat," cornerback Brandon McGee said. "So it's up to us to produce. Having that goal line stand, it's amazing."

Georgia Tech, coming off consecutive 50-plus scoring games, hit on a few quick strikes to steal the momentum in the second quarter. None of its six touchdown drives took more than six plays while Miami's scoring drives averaged 11 snaps.

Despite Tech's reputation as a ball-control offense, its time of possession advantage was just a matter of seconds. After a quarter, Miami gained the hosts 192-39 after Phillip Dorsett's 65-yard touchdown gave the 'Canes a 7-0 on the game's third play.

Dorsett finished nine catches and 184 yards — the eighth most in Miami history. Quarterback Stephen Morris became the first Hurricane in 10 years to break the 400-yard passing mark with 436 by completing 31 of 52 passes.

A gauntlet of Miami shouting fans formed outside Bobby-Dodd Stadium as the team walked to the bus.